Churches of Poznan

There are three outstanding churches in Poznan.  The most important and oldest is not the most beautiful although in its setting it is quite charming.  The other two rank as among the best Baroque churches anywhere, which I say having been in all of the great ones in Rome, Palermo and elsewhere in Italy.  I have every reason to believe that they were both done by Italians using Italian marble and other materials.

Archcathedral Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul is on Cathedral Island which is also shares with two excellent museums.   The first church on the site was built in 968.  The remains are still visible in the basement.  Starting in the 1300’s the church was rebuilt in the Gothic style, renovated into the Baroque style after a fire in the 1600’s.  The damage in 1945 led to its reconstruction in the Gothic we see today.  Pope John Paul II visited and is honored in the church.  The setting is a amidst lovely trees and buildings, some church owned, on the small island where Poland was founded.  The site was at one point a palace.   Archaeologists have excavated the area, which is in front of the cathedral.

 

my pen and ink of Poznan Cathedral

St Stanislaus 

This stunning church was built in the 1600’s.  Along with it is a Jesuit college.  For interesting details see St Stanislaus 

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Church of St Anthony

For more information click on the link above

 

 

 

A terrific baroque building: Basilika Mariatrost, Graz (with sketches)

A terrific baroque building: Basilika* Mariatrost, Graz (with sketches)

July 2016

The lovely Mariatrost Basilica is a baroque style building on top of the Purberg hill, a steep climb from the bus stop including some 225 steps.  There’s a lovely view from the top-  see my pen and ink sketch below- and what’s inside is a superb example of the baroque.

Basilika Mariatrost
Basilika Mariatrost

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Schloss Eggenberg, Graz, Austria

One of 600 paintings in the apartments of Schloss Eggenberg

A Baroque masterpiece and World Heritage Site, Schloss Eggenberg in Graz, Austria is a treasure of the Baroque and, to a lesser extent, the Rococo period of the Baroque epoch, which is the last development in the as well as the most complex and intricate of the period.

One of 600 paintings in the apartments of Schloss Eggenberg
One of 600 paintings in the apartments of Schloss Eggenberg

Here is a video slide show of our photos during the visit, which is only available as a guided tour, set to Mozarts’ Klarinettenkonzert (K. 622).  The tour is in English as well as German.

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